Reinach relishes looser leash for Boks

Cobus Reinach, the Springboks' starting scrumhalf against the All Blacks in their Rugby Championship clash at Ellis Park on Saturday, exemplifies the notion of being a team player better than most.

The last time Reinach played against the All Blacks he came off the bench as the only back in a groundbreaking, if not earth-shattering, Bomb Squad that featured seven muscle-flexing forwards in London.

In winning 35-7 at Twickenham the Boks inflicted their heaviest defeat on the All Blacks, and again significantly shifted the needle in how 23 men can be spread most productively across 80 minutes.

Reinach and Co helped the Boks lengthen their stride that day and in the ensuing Rugby World Cup he fought his way into the starting line-up by the time the knockout stages arrived. He started in the pressure-cooker quarterfinal against France in Paris before doing the same in the semifinal against England a week later.

He might reasonably have expected to get a crack in the match-day 23 for the final against the All Blacks, but he was cruelly omitted.

Head coach Rassie Erasmus explained earlier in the week how players are viewed as equals in the selection process except when it comes to the World Cup final where “building squad depth”  becomes a superfluous phrase.

Like he does with fringe defenders, Reinach clearly knows how to put disappointment in the rear-view mirror.

On Saturday he has the opportunity to again measure himself against the All Blacks but this time as a starter. He will go into the clash with eyes wide open.

This weekend he will partner Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu for a second time and he has no intention of babysitting the precocious talent.

“He has rugby in his blood,” he said about the flyhalf. “There is not a problem with confidence. On the field he just wants to go out play and express himself.

“He's got the whole squad behind him. We don't care if a mistake happens — we'll fix it.

“I'm backing him to do his own job. There is complete faith in everyone doing their job.”

Reinach's selection next to Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Aphelele Fassi's presence at fullback provides the hint the Springboks will have strong attacking urges on Saturday.

That Reinach still ranks as the speediest scrumhalf in the Bok group at age 34 speaks volumes about what resides in his blood but he is also propelled by a hard-to-ignore imperative.

“I don't like to be tackled. I try to get away,” Reinach quipped. “I'm lucky my dad [Jaco, a long-time former South Africa 400m record-holder] was also fast and its kinda in the blood.

“It is something I do work hard at. If you neglect it, it is going to go away quick and it takes a long time to build up again.”

That Reinach is snappy off the mark and has a decent top end gives the Boks significantly more thrust in their quest to bring attacking variety to their game.

Attack coach Tony Brown's more nuanced preachings in what the Boks should do with the ball has found favour with the players.

“The way Tony wants the nine to move and to be a threat is enjoyable,” Reinach said. “It opens things up, you get in and out quicker and decisions are formed around you in the way your teammates run off you.

“It is almost a shape game that is asserted by physical dominance. We enjoy it. It is not just about picking up the ball at the ruck but we look up to see what we can do.”

With the leash a little looser under Brown, Reinach may well hit his straps against the All Blacks. Even if he does, he is all too aware that won't guarantee him selection for next weekend's clash in Cape Town.

As much as he wants to lay claim to the No 9 jersey he still buys into the collective. “I just want to leave the jersey in a better place.”